Best Pontiac Powered Super Stockers

[oldskool]

Originally Posted by JEFF ESSMANN

the judge was run in ahra and nhra was original rockys gto out of Maryland I believe the 69 wagon was ihra and ahra and the yellow 72 was a 455 ho combination ran until 1980 when jerry switch to the corvette

So, that Judge was this Rocky's Goat car ?

[oldskool]

I think we talked about the record holding '74 A-body that Carroll Warling has raced for a long time. He ran it with a Lemans nose & a Grand Am nose.

I think his record was in SS/MA. Also noticed that he won class at Indy, at least once.

In 2008, he qualified #10 @ 1.164 under, & won his SS/MA class.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2008#indextop

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2008#indextop

I've noticed several '74-'77 A-bodies still running, in Stock, mostly '74's & '77's. I think there has also been a pic of a Bob Peters & Bob Michael SS version.

But, I just found a pic of a Duncan & Michael version. I assume the Duncan is Johnny Duncan, since his SS Bird has been pictured here. Can't remember if it's been posted or not, But, I'm not gonna go back thru the thread to see. So, I'll post it here.

Would be interesting to me to know just how many Stock & SS Pontiacs Bob Michael has been a part of. His name has been linked to lots of 'em. He might be a good candidate for the Pontiac Drag Racing Hall of Fame, if such a thing exists. May already be a member.

Just Googled it & nothing turned up.

Maybe some of the Long time Pontiac Stock & SS racers should start one.

That pic reminds me. Back in the old days, A-1 was the big name in torque converters. Seemed like all the quickest cars had A-1 decals on 'em. That car actually had two A-1 decals, one for converters & one for transmissions. So, that brings up a question for you guys who were racing back then. About what year, or general time period did A-1 lose it's #1 status, or are they still #1 ? I see they're still in business. But I see lots of other converter decals on cars. I see that Carroll Warling has an A-1 converter decal on his record holder.

[Mark Yacavone]

Originally Posted by oldskool

So, that Judge was this Rocky's Goat car ?

Yes

[oldskool]

OK, I said I'd try to dig up some more info on the Ken Shawver '78 T/A. Since we found from the Indy files that the performance really improved in '02, I decided to start there.

1st race I pulled up was the nat event near Chicago. And, there he was, at #28 on the Q-list @ .789 under.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2002#indextop

How 'bout the Pontiac Excitement Nats ? !!!

Ken was #32 @ .689 under. Peter Biondo was #41. I assume he was in the Hatari 4th gen, when it still had a 400. And Sal Biondo was listed #35, in a '91 GT car . I assume it also had Pontiac power, or did it ?

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2002#indextop

At the Craftsman Nats, he was #24 @ .913 under. Peter Biondo was #28 @ .881 under, & was RU at the race. At the time, it said Peter had won 19 nat events. Don't know how many were with Pontiac power, or in what classes.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2002#indextop

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2002#indextop

Ken had his new found power for this race. He was #16 @ 1.055 under. Peter Biondo was #65 @ .868 under.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2003#indextop

At the '04 Pontiac Excitment nats, he was #11 @ 1.040 under. Peter Biondo was #33 @ .853 under.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2004#indextop

Also noticed that there were 6 Pontiac Stockers at this race, & Sal Biondo was RU.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2004#indextop

Peter Biondo got RU in SS.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2004#indextop

That's all I could find for Ken in '04.

[oldskool]

I began lookin for Ken, in 2005, at the Pontiac Performance Nats. No SS.

But I took a peak at Stock.

Don Holmes was #1 @ -1.210. Fitting, I thought, because of the event name. Paul Dilcher was #8 @ -1.044. Kyle Riley was #13 @ -1.001. Dave Edwards was #15 @ - .962. Tim Gillespie was #23 @ - .888. Sal Biondo was #30 @ - .843.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2005#indextop

At the Carquest Nats, Ken was #10 @ - .968. Peter Biondo was #47 @ - .552.

At the Jeg's Sports Nats, Ken was #10 @ -1.072. Peter Biondo was #61 @ - .897.

Peter won.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2005#indextop

At the '06 Carquest Nats, Ken was #2 @ - 1.098. Peter was #18 @ -.938. Bobby Rashid is listed with a '68 Bird. But it's running GT/CA, so I assume it has a BBC engine

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2006#indextop

This is a good time to say this. And I'll probably repeat it occasionally. For most of the GT cars, I have no way of knowing what engine they have. So, if you guys see a Pontiac powered GT car that I leave out, please post that info. I need all the help I can get, especially with names & cars I'm not familiar with.

[jmcarter]

[oldskool]

OK, looks like 2007 is the year Monte Howard started driving the car. At Norwalk, he was #24 @ - 1.029.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2007#indextop

There are 2 things I'd like to point out here. Not only was this car quicker than most Pontiac SS cars(against it's index), but it may have been the only Pontiac powered car there. Obviously some of the GT cars could have had Pontiac power. I couldn't know, unless I was told by somebody who knows.

For guys that have raced Pontiacs for years, that has happened a LOT. Nationwide, the % of Pontiacs in SS is VERY small. In Stock & bracket racing, we found that MOST of the time we had the only Pontiac power at the race.

Hey, just made the wins that much better, to us. To get a win, we'd usually have to beat 5 Chevy powered cars. That's why it's even worth a look at Pontiac racing history. It would not be reasonable to look at the best Chevy powered Stock or SS cars, because there have been so many. Thousands, or probably 10's of thousands. Couldn't hope to mention all the good Chevy powered cars, thru the years.

Didn't find Monte at any more nat events, in '07, other than the US Nats. I've already mentioned it, but this is a good time to post it again. At the US Nats, Monte was #29 @ - 1.118. In a 128 car field. That's pretty quick. And, unless I missed a car, or a GT car had Pontiac power that I don't know about, Monte had the only Pontiac powered car in the field.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2007#indextop

Think about that. Your on the biggest drag racing stage in the world. And you're the only odd ball SS car with a Pontiac engine. That sounds like something we would have loved to experience.

I assume this car raced at div races & smaller races during the season. But I have no way to know. I accidentally ran across it listed at a race on the East coast. I haven't even been checking all the East coast nat events, thinking they didn't do much racing that far East.

So, if anybody has info about races the car won, please post that info in this thread. From what I've read, it is one of the quickest and longest running SS Pontiacs. And as mentioned, it still runs today.

[oldskool]

OK, we can break in at any time with any new info about old traditional Pontiac powered SS cars.

But, I wanna start talkin now about the GT cars. There are quite a few running nowadays. Don Kennedy has posted that he had a big part in the rules for GT. And, I assume he had one of the 1st Pontiac powered GT cars.

I have a list of all(or most of) the current GT cars. So, you guys who know:

Who were some of the first guys to run Pontiac powered GT cars ?

What year did they start running them ?

Were most of those car 3rd gen Birds ?

Was Robert Cruzen the 1st guy to stick a Pontiac engine in a Chevy body, for GT.

Besides he & Todd Frantz, who else now runs Pontiac power in a non-Pontiac body ?

Before we start talkin about individual cars, I wanna make a list of all the Pontiac powered GT cars that were active, as of the 2019 season. I'll start the list with those I can think of. Then as ya'll come up with more, I'll edit and add 'em to this list. That way, maybe we won't leave out anybody.

(1) Phil Momteith's Hatari, with several different drivers.

(2) Don Kennedy

(3) Leo Glasbrenner

(4) Greg Meyer

(5) Bill Kennedy, Victor Santos car

(6) Larry Maxwell

(7) Scott Burton

[8) The 2 McCarty cars.

(9) Robert Cruzen

(10) Todd Frantz

(11) Carroll Warling

(12) Keri Angeles Pari

(13) The 4th gen Bird that John Agneta drove some. Don't know a better description, right now. May be what some call the Johnny Duncan car ?

Ya'll give me more & I'll add 'em. Then later, we'll mention some that are no longer active, at least not with Pontiac power.

[oldskool]

Some of the bodies that I know of that have been used are 1st, 3rd & 4th gen Bird, Sunfire, & the Cobalts.

I know that Carroll Warling ran his '74 Lemans in GT some. Before it was stolen, Lindy Lindholm may have run GT, when he ran his '74 Formy Stocker in SS. Can't remember for sure.

So, ya'll name other bodies you know have been converted to Pontiac power, for GT.

I know that 350, 400, 428, & 455 engines have been used. Any others ?

[coolcanman]

Bill Rink has been running his car in gt lately